Pre-seeds announced for Big 12 Wrestling Championships

IRVING, Texas – Pre-seeds for this weekend's Big 12 Wrestling Championships hosted at the BOK Center in Tulsa, Okla., have been released, announced by the conference Monday.

A total of seven Cowboys in the Wyoming lineup earned top-eight pre-seeds for the tournament.

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Stephen Buchanan highlights the group of pre-seeded Pokes as the only Cowboy to earn the No. 1 pre-seed. Buchanan, who is currently ranked No. 2 in the nation, earns the No. 1 pre-seed for the first time in his career after being seeded second last year. Buchanan is currently 19-2 on the season and on a six-match winning streak with three wins over ranked opponents and five bonus point wins during the streak.

The next highest seeded Cowboy is Tate Samuelson who draws the No.3 pre-seed at 184 pounds. Samuelson finished as Big 12 runner-up a season ago and will look to make another charge at a Big 12 title this year currently sporting a record of 16-5 with wins in his last three matches.

The duo of Jacob Wright and Hayden Hastings are both tabbed as the No. 5 seed at 157 and 174 pounds respectively. Both grapplers have at least 15 wins on the season as well as multiple wins over ranked opponents. Last season Hastings finished third at the conference tournament while Wright finished fifth.

After being unseeded last year, Jaron Jensen will enter this year’s Big 12 tournament as the No. 6 seed at 149 pounds. In his final year with the Pokes, Jensen has put together on of the best seasons of his career having a career best 19 wins this season along with a first-place finish at the Reno Tournament of Champions. Last season Jensen finished sixth at 149.

At 141 pounds, Darren Green is set to compete in the first Big 12 tournament of his career and he will enter the weekend as the No. 7 seed. Green has put together a solid season entering the starting lineup mid-way through the year and making the most of the opportunity. Green is currently 16-6 on the season and has won his last three matches.

The final Cowboy to earn a pre-seed is Job Greenwood who is seeded No. 8 at 133 pounds. Greenwood is currently 15-10 on the season with his biggest win coming against returning All-American and No. 8 ranked Michael McGee of Arizona State.